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Art Gallery

Helium’s Online Art Gallery showcases some of the imaginative and inventive artistic works created by children and artists on our projects and the stories behind them.

QR Code Trail

QR Code Trail created by teenagers at Cork University Hospital with artist Eszter Nemethi on the Cloudlands Project in 2013. Technology was an important aspect of Cloudlands with artists in residence exploring the use of sensors, QR codes and projections to alter the space and to support the teenagers to create their own space within the hospital. A dedicated online space was also developed where teenagers and artists could share their work with their peers in other hospitals.

Cloudlands

‘It was fun, let me use my imagination and it was worth doing all the work. It made me feel a lot better for being sick when I was in the hospital.’ Darren (12) worked with artist Emma Fisher to create a horse sculpture for an illustrated book on the Cloudlands Project at University Hospital Galway in 2014. The sculpture became part of the story ‘Magic behind the Wall’.

It is written in the stars

It is written in the stars (2014): Mixed media artwork by teen patient with artist Emma Fisher on the Cloudlands Project at University Hospital Galway. This artwork formed part of an online collaborative digital book connecting participants at the hospital, stories slowly growing, page by page. Inspired by those who have created before them, each teenager added their twist to the story, contributing to shared themes of escape, otherworldliness, mythical creatures, super heroes, and individual hopes and dreams.

Deer 'Sundials'

Deer ‘Sundials’ created by artist Rachel Tynan in response to a teenager’s story on the Cloudlands Project at Temple Street Children’s University Hospital (2015). When the sun shines, the image is revealed through the sun projection across the wall.

Hoot's Adventure

Hoot’s Adventure, Star Lady Story, Part 3: Artwork by Aimee Louise and artist Rachel Tynan on the Cloudlands Project at Temple Street Children’s University Hospital, 2014. Aimee Louise and Rachel made a number of artworks together inspired by Aimee’s Star Lady character, a healer who lived in the woods: ‘People didn’t need hospitals anymore because of the Star Lady.’

The Blue Phoenix

The Blue Phoenix: Detail of skirt by Mary and artist Rachel Tynan on the Cloudlands Project at Temple Street Children’s University Hospital, 2013. Mary, a keen writer and poet, met Rachel when she was undergoing dialysis in the Renal Unit. She thought of a story about a blue phoenix called Grace which she immediately began writing down. The blue phoenix would inspire a number of collaborative artworks by the two over the following months, including an illustrated book.

Stair Box

Stair Box, Cloudlands Project: A conversation starter created by artist Rachel Tynan when first meeting young people at the bedside in Temple Street Children’s University Hospital (year). Participants could choose from a number of mystery boxes which contained a different object to inspire them to begin a story. Once the teenager began their story, Rachel joined the story-making journey, ready to improvise with art materials, hospital furniture, and imaging technology.

The Ocean Fairy

The Ocean Fairy: Artwork panel by Lauren and artist Rachel Tynan, created for the Sundreams tapestry at Temple Street Children’s University Hospital in 2014. Participants on the Cloudlands Dublin project created 14 individual panels with embedded sound sensors. Sundreams was framed and hung in the main hallway of Temple Street Hospital in 2015 where it remains on permanent display.

Titans

Titans: Interactive installation formed through a family of beautiful wooden figures by artist Rachel Tynan and teenagers at Temple Street Children’s University Hospital (2015). As the figures are moved into different combinations, they reveal sound recordings of the teenagers’ stories. From a Star Lady who heals, to a transforming cheeky Faun, the Titans uncover another world that sheds light on the characters and their lives. The ‘Titans’ formed part of the Cloudlands Exhibition Tour (2016) which travelled to arts venues and hospitals in Galway, Waterford, Cork and Dublin

Barometer

Barometer (2016): Teenagers at Temple Street Children’s University Hospital explored the idea of measuring time and measuring pain on the Fireflies Project with artist Rachel Tynan – one teenager suggested sharing pain so everyone gets a turn. For his barometer of how his daily hours were spent, he chose red to represent pain, grey for boredom, green for sleep and yellow for enjoyable things. Participants could share their code with others or keep it as a secret for themselves.

Fireflies

“Drawing & working with Rachel was a really good way for me to process the way I came into hospital, how everything felt…because it all happened so quickly. It was also really fun!” Lauren first began working with artist Rachel Tynan at Temple Street Children’s University Hospital in 2013 when she was undergoing dialysis there. They created many artworks together over the next 3 years. In 2017, as part of the Fireflies Project, they came together again for a day of artmaking outside the hospital environment to explore the theme of “transitioning” in hospital, as Lauren had started to move into adult services.

Portrait of Sunshine

Portrait of Sunshine (2017): ‘Sunshine’ and artist Siobhan Clancy began making work together at Temple Street Hospital in 2017 on the Fireflies Project. Sunshine is going through haemodialysis while she waits for a kidney transplant and spends a lot of time at the hospital. The dialysis can involve long, isolating sessions several times a week where Sunshine has to sit and wait for the process to finish. Taking part in Fireflies, Sunshine has been able to use this time to be creative, making prints, experimenting with syringe paintings, creating portraits and lots more.

Lino Print (2017): ‘Sunshine’

Lino Print (2017): ‘Sunshine’ and artist Siobhan Clancy began making work together at Temple Street Hospital in 2017 on the Fireflies Project. Sunshine is going through haemodialysis while she waits for a kidney transplant and spends a lot of time at the hospital. The dialysis can involve long, isolating sessions several times a week where Sunshine has to sit and wait for the process to finish. Taking part in Fireflies, Sunshine has been able to use this time to be creative, making prints, experimenting with syringe paintings, creating portraits and lots more.

Syringe Puppet: On the Puppet Portal Project (2009-2010)

Syringe Puppet: On the Puppet Portal Project (2009-2010), children repurposed medical implements as puppets. The sterility of medical implement design can intimidate young people who are used to softer textures, brighter colours and appealing shapes. By repurposing the equipment, we aim to give young people a sense of agency in how they are used. This approach can facilitate humour and critique, all of which reinforce the intellectual authority of young people and helps to build their resilience, making them feel more confident and relaxed when they encounter the implements in other, less creative tasks.

Puppet Portal Project

Performing puppets created by children on the Puppet Portal Project (2009-2010). Puppetry offers a great medium for self-conscious participants as it shifts the focus off the storyteller and places it instead onto an inanimate object. In health contexts, this can be helpful for anyone self-conscious about the effects of their condition on their bodies, with these temporary or long-term attributes positively integrated in the characterisation of a puppet to entertain and educate.

Two Suitcases

Two Suitcases (2012): The award-winning pilot film on our community film project was adapted from the memoir of Ben Murnane and created with young people living with chronic illness. When Ben was 9 years old he was diagnosed with Fanconi anaemia, a rare genetic disease. The film follows Ben’s story from his childhood diagnosis to the aftermath of his bone marrow transplant, as he uses his creativity, imagination and wit to help him cope. All the childhood characters were played by dolls, including this very fetching Ken doll who doubled as Ben.

Old Country

Old Country (2015): Teenagers from CanTeen Ireland, the national young people’s cancer support group, made this collage as part of a Surrealist-inspired workshop led by visual artist Louise Manifold on Helium’s Two Suitcases community film project. The workshop aimed to show the young people new ways of imagining film content.

Ghost Soldier

Ghost Soldier I (2015, film still): The grounds of Royal Hospital Kilmainham (which now house the Irish Museum of Modern Art) are said to be haunted by the ghost of an old soldier who once lived there. Ruarc from CanTeen Ireland, the national young people’s cancer support group, took inspiration from the idea of the ghost soldier walking around modern-day Kilmainham Hospital, unnoticed by museum visitors. His film formed part of Helium’s Two Suitcases Promenade Day in 2016, with visitors using a trail map to seek out film installations throughout the grounds of IMMA. The project was led by artist Siobhan Clancy.

Taking Blood

Taking Blood (2015, film still): CanTeen members Lisa and Shannon, inspired by the history of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, were interested in what soldiers in the infirmary might have endured in previous centuries when there was no sterilization of medical instruments and little infection control. Leading from this, and influenced by the universal dislike of having your bloods taken in hospital, they created a silent movie caper with filmmaker Alan Brennan on the Two Suitcases community film project at IMMA.

Planet of the Capes

Planet of the Capes (2017): At a showcase for their superhero film, Planet of the Capes, young people from CanTeen Ireland joined forces with musician Sean Carpio to perform a live soundtrack akin to the foley artists of the silent movie era, in this case to imagine lost scenes from the film. Using a mix of musical instruments, electron­ics and Foley art techniques, they scored these imaginary scenes live, with the visual aid of selected footage from the editing room floor, as seen in this film still.

Fortress of Solitude

Fortress of Solitude (2017): Inspired by the imagination of young people from CanTeen Ireland during their collaboration on the superhero film Planet of the Capes, Two Suitcases artist mentors Louise Manifold and Ben Murnane produced the short film Fortress of Solitude. Drawing on the fantasy of being a superhero, Louise’s visuals were overlaid with a poetic narration composed and spoken by Ben.

Seizure the Day

Seizure the Day (2017, film still): The lives of three young people with epilepsy intersect when they find themselves visiting the same exhibition at the Irish Museum of Medieval Archaeology. They come to understand how being open about the condition can help with peer relationships and alter people’s perceptions. The film was created by teenagers who have epilepsy during a national filmmaking project with Epilepsy Ireland.

Ghostly Visitor

‘It’s really nice to be able to say to other people, “I have a similar condition to you, let’s go make something”’ (participant, 14). Fourteen teenagers with diabetes let their imagination fly on a daylong film workshop with Diabetes Ireland in 2017, creating their own mini films (including this scene with a Ghostly Visitor) and picking up lots of filmmaking skills along the way, supported by artist Siobhán Clancy with film mentors Róisín Loughrey, Ciaran O’Donnell and Alan Williams. Photo credit: Gary McGivney Photography.

We start over but it’s not the same

We start over but it’s not the same (2018): Young people from CanTeen Ireland chose an apocalyptic theme for their music score and accompanying film on the 2018 Two Suitcases Project. Working with artist Louise Manifold, they designed visual effects to interpret catastrophic climate events that reduce the world to ashes. From the ashes, a new normal begins for the survivors. The project was produced in collaboration with musician Sean Carpio and filmmaker Alan Brennan.

Electric Feathers

Electric Feathers (2018): Young teenagers with epilepsy collaborated with artist Rachel Tynan on an artmaking project in partnership with Epilepsy Ireland, which ran from February to July 2018. The teenagers came up with the name ‘Electric Feathers’ for their art group, designed their own logo and screen-printed the logo onto t-shirts. Photo credit: Thom McDermott.

Brain Map

Brain Map (2018): Sophie and her brother pose in front of a group artwork created by Sophie and seven other teenagers on the Electric Feathers art camp with Epilepsy Ireland. Working with artist Rachel Tynan, the artwork was inspired by the theme of brain mapping and was exhibited to families during an end of camp showing of work. Photo credit: Thom McDermott.

Diptych

Diptych (2018): Gemma was inspired by her love of music and also by Frank Bowling’s triptychs from the Mappa Mundi exhibition in IMMA when it came to painting this piece. The work was created during the Electric Feathers teen art camp with Epilepsy Ireland at IMMA which was led by artist Rachel Tynan. The camp kicked off with a tour of Bowling’s work and the use of paint drip and masking tape in Gemma’s diptych was also inspired by Bowling. Photo credit: Thom McDermott.

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